


Persuasion

by hedonistic_opportunist



Category: Naruto
Genre: Gen, M/M, Past Relationship(s), Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-26
Updated: 2021-03-27
Packaged: 2021-04-11 17:27:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21565342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hedonistic_opportunist/pseuds/hedonistic_opportunist
Summary: Maybe, this time around, it's not Naruto who's doing the saving, but Sasuke instead.
Relationships: Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 7
Kudos: 21





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> Warning(s): Self beta'd; bad writing. Vaguely British setting. Bad puns. Typos. 
> 
> A/N: Any feedback is appreciated. Questions/concerns are also welcome. 
> 
> I cannot tell you how often I will update. This fic is a response to some real life stress I am going through at the moment, and - as such - updates will be sporadic.

***

The moment the door closed behind his last client of the day, Sasuke could not help but sigh and sink back against the chair. His head throbbed, and he was pretty certain that the ability to process anything coherently and intelligibly had died hours ago. He groaned and proceeded to rest his head on his desk as Kakashi – his supposed mentor -- kept flicking through the pages of the newest issue of smut he was so fond of reading. Of course, Kakashi referred to it as ‘sensuous literature’, but Sasuke could only ever shake his head at that notion.

“Wish it was the weekend already?” Kakashi asked as he handed him a mineral water bottle from the fridge in their office -- if it could be called that. Situated in a student area, ‘Hatake and Co Social Services’ was a brick building that would not have been out of place in a former coal mining town; its interior – composing of a sparsely furnished ground floor and another floor with a couple of meeting rooms in it – was even less striking. The furniture was mostly second-hand, and only the hand drawn posters of previous clients lent the office some sort of ambience.

Sasuke merely nodded and mumbled a quick 'thank you' before slowly getting ready to close up shop for the day – turning his PC off, putting any sensitive paperwork into his locker and making sure his desk did not resemble the pig stall that Kakashi claimed was his workspace.

“I will be in a bit later tomorrow,” Sasuke said as he started buttoning his brown tweed coat – an item Kakashi called tasteless, but one that Sasuke would not dispose of as long as he lived (if only because the 10th Doctor also wore one like that). 

“Family business?” Kakashi asked, opening a pack of crisps as he sprawled out on the brown sofa in their main office. His trainers were soaked in mud.

“Make sure you clean up after yourself,” Sasuke said, eyes narrowing as he recalled how terrible the older man’s habits were. “And yes – it’s that time of the year.”

“Good luck,” Kakashi said before proceeding to take out another smut novel from his rucksack. He waved before burying his nose in it.

Sasuke merely rolled his eyes before he left the office.

***

Rain pelted all across the city centre, making dark buildings appear even more so while the drenched streets looked even more dismal than ever. It was just the brink of November – that month of the year where any traces of summer are long gone, and trees mostly resemble skeletal statues more than anything else. .

Sasuke did not mind the rain, burying his hands in his pockets as – for some reason or the other – he recalled the lyrics of ‘There goes Mr Humbug’. He grinned at that, the childish memory reminding him of simpler days – days where he had not paid mortgage or had to worry about yearly increases to the council tax in his area. 

It also brought back memories of Naruto.

Although that name no longer quite stirred the intense emotions it had ten years ago, he still felt a pang of something – it could have been nostalgia, but Sasuke knew that was not the case.

He was not a fool, and -- as he continued his ten minute walk to his house – Sasuke merely wondered what the man was up to these days.

And whether he thought about Sasuke at all anymore.

***


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maybe, this time around, it's not Naruto who's doing the saving, but Sasuke instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m not going to apologise for the slow updates. Life in 2020 was …interesting, and I’ve only recently had the mental strength to return to some of my past pursuits :) 
> 
> Warning(s): Slooooow burn. Self bet'd. All feedback appreciated.

***

In a small house, only twenty minutes away from where he lived, Sasuke visited his brother as he did every afternoon after work. Itachi’s house was sparse and clean, the furniture functional and revealing little about the man inhabiting the space. 

Itachi gazed at him without recognition as usual. It no longer hurt, but Sasuke still found himself searching his brother’s features for any hint of the man he used to be. But, looking at Itachi’s pale face, his dark eyes and unsmiling mouth, all he saw was the mute and broken shell that Itachi had been for the past ten years. 

Sasuke brushed these thoughts aside and sat down on the chair beside his brother’s bed and started to peel the apple that he’d bought from the farmer’s market an hour ago. 

“I hope this one’s to your liking” he said, speaking more to himself than anyone else, but -- as he told Kakashi -- he liked to believe that, at some level, Itachi understood what he said. “I remember how much you used to like red apples when we were kids.”

Sasuke smiled at the memory flashing before his eyes -- him and Itachi, going home after school, autumn leaves already spreading across the ground. A tapestry of orange and green that had comforted Sasuke then as much Itachi’s presence --

He sighed. “I miss you, Itachi.” He leaned forward and brushed a loose strand away from Itachi’s face, reminding himself to call the nurse tomorrow to let her know he’d be taking Itachi out. After all, tomorrow was their annual visit to their parents’ graves.

*** 

When he entered his hallway, Sasuke felt that familiar relief he went through whenever he entered a warm room. The wintry chill was gone, replaced by something familiar, something that felt like _ home _. 

While it was nothing fancy, Sasuke thought that he’d done well with his two-bedroom house. Located in a familial area, just a little off the M4, he was close enough to any local amenities to not worry about having to drive. Over the past couple of years, he’d decorated the interior with nick knacks that he’d bought at yard sales. He was particularly fond of his antique bookshelf filled with books he’d collected over the years -- most of them bought in charity stores, often on a whim. 

Kakashi, whenever he came over for tea, always mocked Sasuke for that habit of his, saying that Sasuke could not leave a bookstore without buying at least three novels. 

Sasuke smiled to himself at that thought, thinking that it was probably true. But, then again, he supposed it was better than collecting alcohol bottles or spending half of his monthly salary on fags. 

He moved over to the bookshelf and ran his fingers over his favourites. Books he’d read as a sad teenager, novels he’d consumed when he’d been so angry that he had thought his chest would burst, and stories that had engraved themselves into his memory, becoming just as precious as his childhood days. 

Sasuke paused before a well-worn, treasured copy of a famous childhood novel. He found himself pulling the book out, letting that feeling of nostalgia roll over him as he remembered first holding it. Remembering Naruto’s cheeky grin when he’d proclaimed that he had known this was the right gift for Sasuke. 

Sasuke knew that dwelling on those memories was an exercise in sentimentality, but then again, it was not like he had much else left to hold onto that still connected him to Naruto. 

***


End file.
